Costa Rica invests $47.9 million in connectivity initiative for Indigenous territories
The Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) has been awarded $47.9 million to bring telephone and Internet services to Indigenous territories in the south of Costa Rica and near its Atlantic coast. The investment was made through the National Telecommunications Fund (FONATEL),…
Local government in the UK awarded funds for digital inclusion projects
The Local Government Association (LGA, the national membership body for local authorities in the UK) will disburse close to £200,000 to ten councils to fund initiatives which promote digital inclusion in their local communities. The supported projects focus on reaching…
Huawei puts digital inclusion front and center in announcement of ‘Tech4ALL’ initiative
Huawei has announced a new initiative, Tech4ALL, to promote the digital inclusion for both individuals and small businesses by focusing efforts on connectivity, applications and skills. The initiative aims to help 500 million additional people around the world benefit directly…
Costa Rica to provide free Internet in bid to reduce the country’s digital divide
Costa Rica has launched an initiative called “Espacios Públicos Conectados” (Connected Public Spaces) to reduce the country’s digital divide through FONATEL, the National Telecommunications Fund. The objective of this programme is to bring free Internet to 170 public spaces throughout…
India to establish 100,000 digital villages in remote and rural areas
In its latest budget, the government of India announced its plans to convert 100,000 villages into ‘digital villages’ over the next five years, enhancing the digital and financial inclusion of the country’s remote and rural areas. This will be achieved…
Digital Education Bus brings digital skills training to underserved communities across Peru
The “Digital Education Bus” programme – launched by Fundación Telefónica Peru – received an “Entrepreneurial Creativity” award for providing access to digital skills training to more than 180,000 children and teachers from approximately 300 schools. The bus has been active…
“Libraries Lead With Digital” toolkit to improve digital skills in the UK
A group of libraries from the United Kingdom launched the “Libraries Lead With Digital” toolkit, proposing a scheme to provide digital skills training for local communities. The toolkit, created in partnership with Google and Public Libraries 2020 (PL2020), contains guidance…
Digital Transformation Van to provide ICT training in rural India
Indus Towers and the NIIT Foundation launched a digital literacy programme called the Digital Transformation Van (DTV) to provide the population from rural Vadodara, India with access to technology skills. The programme is expected to impact 48,000 people across 12…
French libraries evaluate their role in facilitating digital inclusion
An article published by French website La Gazette Des Communes released a reflection about the responsibilities and limitations of libraries to facilitate digital inclusion. As explained in the text, there is a common agreement among librarians about their role promoting…
Innovation Fund for Rural Connectivity seeks to increase access to ICTs in Ghana and Uganda
GSMA launched the Innovation Fund for Rural Connectivity to expand digital inclusion in Africa, leveraging new technology to address the gap in underserved and rural communities. The fund, which is backed by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) will…
